{"id":4431,"date":"2026-02-07T02:49:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/infantino-tips-morocco-to-win-the-2026-world-cup"},"modified":"2026-02-07T03:16:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T03:16:57","slug":"infantino-tips-morocco-to-win-the-2026-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/sport\/infantino-tips-morocco-to-win-the-2026-world-cup","title":{"rendered":"Infantino Tips Morocco to Win the 2026 World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Twitter users reacted to comments by FIFA President Gianni Infantino about Morocco\u2019s chances of winning the 2026 World Cup. This came during a live broadcast on Instagram, where he received a direct question about whether the \u201cAtlas Lions\u201d could be crowned world champions.<\/p>\n<p>The World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will kick off next June, with seven Arab national teams taking part and the possibility of an eighth \u2014 Iraq \u2014 joining them after playing the qualifying playoff.<\/p>\n<p>The participating Arab teams have been drawn into tough groups, meaning difficult matchups that will require great effort and exceptional performances on the pitch in the world\u2019s most watched and most thrilling tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Infantino explained his answer by listing Morocco\u2019s standout achievements: Morocco\u2019s U-20 side won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile after defeating Argentina, while the \u201cAtlas Lions\u201d reached the semi-finals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and finished fourth in the world \u2014 an unprecedented historic achievement for the Arab world and Africa.<\/p>\n<p>These accomplishments contributed to Morocco being ranked eighth in the world in the FIFA ranking for 2026, topping the African teams.<\/p>\n<p>Morocco will enter the tournament backed by prominent stars playing for major European and Arab clubs, including Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain, Al Hilal\u2019s Saudi-based goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and Real Madrid\u2019s Brahim Di\u0301az.<\/p>\n<p>Morocco will play in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti \u2014 a real challenge from the opening round, combining strong competition with the ambitions of a large fan base.<\/p>\n<p><b>Users\u2019 reactions<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The (06\/02\/2026) episode of the program \u201cShabakat\u201d highlighted a split in opinions: some are optimistic about the abilities of Arab teams, especially Morocco, while others are cautious and see it as difficult to get past the group stage against teams with a long history of titles. Others argued that performance on the pitch is the decisive factor, regardless of expectations.<\/p>\n<p>In an optimistic take, Mohammed tweeted:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hope Morocco wins \u2014 a highly qualified team. All the Arab teams taking part are strong, but this is football: only one team will lift the cup in the end. What matters is playing in a distinctive and honorable way for every country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Karima expressed strong confidence in Morocco\u2019s abilities, saying:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course Morocco will win \u2014 what\u2019s missing? Professional players and everything else. All that\u2019s needed is confidence, good training, and taking responsibility, because the people put their trust in them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sami, clearly more reserved about the overall chances of Arab teams, wrote:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Arab teams will get past the group stage because the participating teams are very strong, and most have a rich history of championships and global stars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taking a middle position between optimism and caution, Mira argued that the final verdict belongs to what happens on the field, writing:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany Arab teams are in the World Cup, and the one that plays best on the pitch will be the one that succeeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Africa<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press. Twitter users reacted to comments by FIFA President Gianni Infantino about Morocco\u2019s chances of winning the 2026 World Cup. This came during a live broadcast on Instagram, where he received a direct question about whether the \u201cAtlas Lions\u201d could be crowned world champions. The World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sport","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Infantino Tips Morocco to Win the 2026 World Cup - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press. 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